JP2007021927A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus having a slidable slitter in which a toe-in angle can be imparted to two circular cutters of the slitter even after the slitter is slid in the width direction of a recording sheet and excellent sharpness can be ensured at all times. <P>SOLUTION: When a first guide shaft is inserted into the holding member of one rotary blade through a first gap while a second guide shaft is inserted into the holding member of the other rotary blade through a second gap larger than the first gap and then the two rotary blades are positioned at a cutting position, a moving means of the holding member is controlled to move the holding member toward the cutting position while adding a moment component in the direction for touching the two rotary blades on the upstream side in the transfer direction and to stop the two rotary blades at the cutting position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus having a recording sheet cutting function for cutting a recording sheet on which an image is recorded by an electrophotographic recording method, a silver salt photography method, an ink jet recording method, a thermal recording method, or the like to obtain a finished print. In particular, the present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that obtains a finished print by cutting a recording sheet on which one or more images are recorded for each image.

In a so-called slitter that rotates two circular blades facing each other and cuts the sheet-like material conveyed between the circular blades along the conveyance direction, one of the circular blades is moved in the conveyance direction of the sheet-like material with respect to the other. A technique for improving the sharpness by inclining the two blades so that they come into contact with each other on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the sheet-like material in the overlap region when the blades are viewed from the side (known as a toe-in angle) is known. ing.
For example, in Patent Document 1, in a plastic film cutting apparatus, the shaft center of the disc-shaped shear blade is slightly inclined with respect to the axis of the disc-shaped receiving blade, and the shear blade and the receiving blade are overlapped in the film in the overlap region. It is described that point contact is made substantially on the most upstream side in the traveling direction.
JP-A-7-246591

By the way, a sheet-shaped recording medium (recording sheet) having a standard size larger than various print sizes is used, and a plurality of images are formed on the recording sheet in a layout corresponding to the print size, and then cut into a desired print size. There is known an image forming apparatus for producing a finished print.
In such an image forming apparatus, when a slitter is employed as a cutting means in the recording sheet conveyance direction, if a large number of fixed slitters are provided at cutting positions corresponding to the respective sizes, the number of parts is increased and the apparatus cost is increased. Therefore, it is desirable that the slitter is movable in the width direction of the recording sheet so that various print widths can be accommodated with a small number of slitters.

  However, when the slitter is configured to be slidable in the recording sheet width direction, it is necessary to provide a predetermined clearance (backlash) at the fitting portion between the slide guide and the slitter that slidably supports the slitter. It is difficult to maintain the angle, and it is difficult to have a predetermined toe-in angle even after the slitter is slid.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and in an image forming apparatus having a slitter that can be slid, the toe-in is performed on the two circular blades of the slitter even after the slitter is slid in the width direction of the recording sheet. An image forming apparatus capable of providing corners and always improving sharpness, preventing damage to the recording sheet due to cutting failure and jamming in the apparatus, and creating a clean print of the cut surface. It is to provide.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention includes an image recording unit that records an image on a recording sheet, and a cutting unit that transports the recording sheet on which the image is recorded and cuts the recording sheet along the transport direction. An image recording device,
The cutting part is
Two rotating blades in pairs arranged to have overlapping portions on the blades;
Two holding members that respectively hold the rotary blade rotatably;
A first guide shaft extending in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction, passing through one of the holding members to the first gap and guiding the holding member in the width direction, and the other holding member; A second guide shaft that guides the holding member in the width direction through a second gap larger than the first gap;
The two holding members are moved together in the width direction while adding at least a moment component about the direction perpendicular to the surface that conveys the recording sheet to the holding member guided by the second guide shaft. Moving means to
When positioning the two rotary blades at the cutting position, the holding member is moved toward the cutting position while adding the moment component in a direction in which the two rotary blades are brought into contact with the upstream side in the transport direction. And a control means for controlling the moving means so as to stop the two rotary blades at the cutting position.

  Here, the moving means includes a drive source, and first and second drive transmission members respectively connected to the two holding members at positions shifted from the centers of the first and second guide shafts in the transport direction. It is preferable to have.

  In addition, the cutting portion includes the two holding members that hold the two rotary blades that form the pair, through which the first and second guide shafts are inserted, and a moving means for the two holding members, It is preferable to have two sets.

  According to the present invention, since the toe-in angle can be given to the two circular blades of the slitter even after the slitter is slid in the width direction of the recording sheet, the sharpness can always be improved and the cutting failure is caused. It is possible to prevent problems such as damage to the recording sheet and jam in the apparatus, and to create a print with a clean cut surface.

  An image recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail based on a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, an image recording apparatus 10 includes an image recording unit 12, a cutting unit 14, a swinging unit 16, a sort conveying unit 18, and a sheet-like recording medium (recording sheet, paper) in each of these units. ) And a plurality of conveying rollers 20 that convey the cut sheet S along a predetermined path.
The image recording apparatus 10 records one or more images on the cut sheet S by the image recording unit 12, and then cuts each image by the cutting unit 14 and cuts the margins to obtain a finished print P. The prints P formed in a plurality of rows are turned back to a single row by the return portion 16 and collected one by one by the sort transport portion 18.

First, the image recording unit 12 will be described.
The image recording unit 12 controls the operation of each component of the supply unit 22, the back printing unit 23, the image forming unit 24, the reverse conveyance unit 26, the position adjustment unit 28, the surface gloss processing unit 30, and the image recording unit 12. The control part 42 which has. The cut sheet S is conveyed to each part of the image recording unit 12 by a plurality of conveyance rollers 20. In addition, an image input unit 44 and an operation unit 46 are connected to the control unit 42.

  The image recording unit 12 performs back printing on the cut sheet S supplied from the supply unit 22 by the back printing unit 23, forms a color image at the image forming unit 24, and further performs surface gloss processing at the surface gloss processing unit 30. By performing the above, an image for printing is recorded on the cut sheet S.

In this embodiment, the image recording unit 12 performs electrophotographic image recording, and a plurality of colors are selected in accordance with image data input from the image input unit 44 and instruction input input from the operation unit 46. For example, a toner image of a plurality of colors using four color toners of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), K (black, black) (hereinafter simply referred to as YMCK or CMYK). Then, this toner image is transferred and fixed on the cut sheet S, whereby a color image composed of a plurality of fixed toner images is formed on the cut sheet S.
However, the image recording method in the image recording apparatus of the present invention is not particularly limited, and various recording methods such as a silver salt photographic method, an ink jet recording method, and a thermal recording method can be used in addition to the electrophotographic method. .

  The image input unit 44 is a part that inputs image data of a print image to be created and performs processing for print image creation. The image input unit 44 is a data acquisition device such as a film scanner or a media drive (image data reading / writing device), And an image processing unit.

A film scanner photoelectrically reads projection light of an image taken on a photographic film with an image sensor such as a CCD sensor, and obtains image data (image data signal) of the film.
The media drive reads image data of a subject image that is captured by a digital camera or the like and recorded on a small recording medium. The media drive can also write recording image data that has been subjected to predetermined image processing in the image processing unit to various media. Further, it may be capable of reading and writing image data stored in a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance).
Image data obtained by a film scanner or a media drive is sent to an image processing unit.

The image processing section performs correction processing such as color / density correction and white balance correction on the image data read by the scanner or media drive, and various image processing such as sharpness and red-eye correction as necessary. It is.
The image input unit 44 outputs the image data subjected to the correction process and the image process to the control unit 42 as output image data.

The operation means 46 is used to input various instruction information relating to print creation, that is, information relating to the operation of each part of the image recording apparatus 10 in accordance with the operation of the operator, and is a normal operation input device such as a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, etc. Is used. The operation unit 46 sends information corresponding to the operation content to the control unit 42, and the control unit 42 controls each unit of the image recording apparatus 10 based on the information.
The operation unit 46 can also input instructions to the scanner, the media drive, and the image processing unit of the image input unit 44 via the control unit 42 or directly.

The supply unit 22 supplies a sheet-like cut sheet S (paper) to the image forming unit 24. The supply unit 22 has magazines 32a and 32b in which a long roll paper A wound in a roll shape with the recording surface facing outward is stored in a housing and a sheet in which a large number of sheet-like cut sheets S are stored. The cassette 38 is loaded.
Note that as the cut sheet S and the roll paper A, plain paper, coated paper, resin sheets, and the like can be used. Further, by using a coated paper designed to exhibit a desired glossiness by processing in the surface gloss processing section 30, a high-quality print P comparable to a photograph using a photosensitive material can be created. .

  Magazines 32a and 32b normally store roll papers having different specifications such as size (width) of roll paper A, surface type such as silk and mat, and thickness. In this embodiment, two magazines 32a and 32b are provided. However, the number of magazines in the image recording apparatus 10 is not particularly limited, and may be one or three or more. Also good.

In the vicinity of the outlets of the magazines 32a and 32b, there are provided pull-out roller pairs 34a and 34b for pulling out and transporting the roll paper A stored in the magazine. Also, cutters 36a and 36b are provided on the downstream side of the drawing roller pair 34a and 34b in the transport direction of the roll paper A. The roll paper A drawn by the drawing roller pair 34a, 34b is cut into a predetermined length by the cutters 36a, 36b to form a cut sheet S.
Based on the control signal from the control unit 42, the drawing roller pair 34a, 34b stops after the roll paper A has been pulled out by a predetermined length corresponding to the print length or always by a predetermined predetermined length. When the drawing roller pairs 34a and 34b are stopped, the cutters 36a and 36b cut the roll paper A. The cut sheet S cut to a predetermined length by the cutters 36 a and 36 b is conveyed to the back printing unit 23 by the conveyance roller 20.

  On the other hand, the sheet cassette 38 stores a large number of sheet-like cut sheets S. In the illustrated example, one sheet cassette 38 is shown, but a plurality of sheet cassettes 38 storing cut sheets having different sizes, face types, and the like may be attached.

  A conveyance roller 39 is provided in the vicinity of the cut-out sheet S outlet of the sheet cassette 38. The cut sheet S taken out from the sheet cassette 38 by the transport roller 39 joins the transport path of the cut sheet S obtained by being pulled out and cut from the magazines 32a and 32b, and is transported to the back printing unit 23 by the transport roller 20. The

  The supply unit 22 may have only one of the magazines 32a and 32b and the sheet cassette 38.

  The back printing unit 23 is provided downstream of the supply unit 22 in the conveyance direction D of the cut sheet S (hereinafter also simply referred to as the conveyance direction). The back printing unit 23 includes a photograph date, a record date, a frame number, a film ID number (symbol), a camera ID number used for photographing, a printer ID number, etc. A so-called back print in which various information and various setting parameters in image formation set by an operator are encoded or converted into characters is recorded (back printing) based on a control signal from the control unit 42.

  While the cut sheet S is conveyed upward in the drawing by the conveyance roller 20, a back print is recorded on the non-image recording surface by the back printing unit 23. A known print head such as an inkjet head, a dot impact print head, or a thermal transfer print head is used for the back printing unit 23.

  A registration roller 20 a is provided downstream of the back printing unit 23. The registration roller 20a conveys the cut sheet S to a secondary transfer roller 62 described later in synchronization with the image forming operation of the image forming unit 24 in accordance with a control signal from the control unit 42.

  The image forming unit 24 forms a color toner image on the cut sheet S with four color toners of CMYK, and includes an exposure unit 40, an image carrier roller 50, a charging roller 52, a cleaner 54, A developing unit 56, an intermediate transfer unit 60, and a secondary transfer roller 62 are included.

The exposure unit 40 a of the exposure unit 40 is connected to the control unit 42.
The control unit 42 assigns images according to the number of images (number of faces) to be recorded on one cut sheet S based on the image data after image processing input from the image input unit 44, Image data of an image to be recorded on the cut sheet S is obtained.

The exposure unit 40 a includes a light beam (recording light) light source for exposing the image carrier roller 50, a light deflector, an fθ lens, a light path changing mirror, a light beam adjusting lens, and the like. It is an optical system.
The exposure unit 40a deflects the light beam modulated according to the image data (that is, the image to be recorded) supplied from the control unit 42 in the main scanning direction that coincides with the width direction orthogonal to the rotation direction of the image carrier roller 50. Then, it is reflected by the mirror 40b, enters a predetermined exposure position, and an electrostatic latent image is recorded on the surface of the image carrier roller 50.

The image carrier roller 50 is constituted by an electrophotographic photosensitive member. The image carrier roller 50 is supported so as to be rotatable in one direction (direction of arrow r).
A charging roller 52 is provided in contact with the surface of the image carrier roller 50. The charging roller 52 uniformly charges the surface of the image carrier roller 50. A cleaner 54 is provided upstream of the charging roller 52 in the rotation direction of the image carrier roller 50 (opposite to the r direction). The cleaner 54 removes residual toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier roller 50.

  The surface of the image carrier roller 50 rotating in the r direction is uniformly charged by the charging roller 52. The surface of the uniformly charged image carrier roller 50 is separated by the exposure unit 40 into Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black, black) color separations from the image input unit 44. Scanning exposure is performed by laser light modulated based on output image data of one image. As a result, an electrostatic latent image of one of Y, M, C, and K having a predetermined surface potential is formed on the surface of the image carrier roller 50.

The developing unit 56 is arranged downstream of the exposure position (in the r direction) from the charging roller 52 with a predetermined minute gap between the developing unit 56 and the surface of the image carrier roller 50.
The developing unit 56 includes developing devices 58Y, 58M, 58C, and 58K for each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) disposed at intervals of 90 ° therein. ing. The developing devices 58Y, 58M, 58C, and 58K are all of the so-called (two component) magnetic brush developing system. In the developing devices 58Y, 58M, 58C, and 58K, a two-component developer containing toner and a carrier is accommodated.

The image forming unit 24 rotates the developing unit 56 in the direction of arrow B at intervals of 90 °, so that any one of the built-in developing devices 58Y, 58M, 58C, and 58K has a corresponding color developing device. The image carrier roller 50 on which a latent image of a color image is formed is arranged while maintaining a predetermined minute interval.
For example, a yellow image latent image is formed on the image carrier roller 50 by the exposure unit 40, and the developing unit 56 is rotated to place the developing device 58Y close to the image carrier roller 50. The yellow electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier roller 50 is electrostatically attached with toner from the developing device 58Y by the magnetic brush effect, and the yellow toner is adhered to the surface of the image carrier roller 50. An image is formed. By repeating this for each of the colors Y, M, C, and K, toner images of each color of Y, M, C, and K are sequentially formed on the image carrier roller 50.

The intermediate transfer unit 60 sequentially receives the toner images of each color formed on the image carrier roller 50 (primary transfer) to form four color toner images of CMYK, and transfers the color toner images to the cut sheet S. (Secondary transfer). The intermediate transfer unit 60 includes an intermediate transfer belt 60a, three stretching rollers 60b that stretch the intermediate transfer belt 60a, and a primary transfer roller 60c that is disposed to face the image carrier roller 50 with the intermediate transfer belt 60a interposed therebetween. Have
The intermediate transfer belt 60a is stretched by three stretching rollers 60b and is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow C.
The primary transfer roller 60c brings the intermediate transfer belt 60a into contact with the image carrier roller 50 and applies a transfer voltage to the intermediate transfer belt 60a.

  The toner image of one of Y, M, C, and K formed on the surface of the image carrier roller 50 by any of the developing devices 58Y, 58M, 58C, and 58K is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 60a and the image carrier. At the primary transfer position where the roller 50 comes into contact, the image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 60a by the transfer voltage from the primary transfer roller 60c.

The image carrier roller 50 to which the toner image has been transferred has the toner remaining on the surface removed by the cleaner 54, and an electrostatic latent image of the next color (for example, magenta) is newly formed by the exposure unit 40. A magenta toner image is formed by the magenta toner from the developing device 58M.
The magenta toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 60a at the primary transfer position. A yellow toner image is first transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 60a, and the magenta toner image is transferred so as to overlap the yellow toner image.
Similarly, by forming toner images for cyan and black and transferring them to the intermediate transfer belt 60a, four color toner images of CMYK are formed on the intermediate transfer belt 60a.

A secondary transfer roller 62 is disposed at a position facing one of the three stretching rollers 60b across the intermediate transfer belt 60a.
The secondary transfer roller 62 transfers the four color toner images of CMYK formed on the intermediate transfer belt 60 a to the sheet-like cut sheet S conveyed from the supply unit 22. The tension roller 60b facing the secondary transfer roller 62 is arranged so that the toner image of four colors is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 60a and then the toner image is appropriately transferred to the sheet S. The transfer belt 60a and the sheet S are brought into close contact with each other and conveyed. The secondary transfer roller 62 transfers the color toner image to the cut sheet S (recording medium) by applying a charge having a polarity opposite to that of each color toner constituting the color toner image to the color toner image. Let In this way, four color toner images of CMYK are formed on the surface of the cut sheet S.

  In the registration roller 20 a, a color toner image formed by transferring all four color toner images onto the intermediate transfer belt 60 a under the control of the control unit 42 is first conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer roller 62. The cut sheet S is conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer roller 62 in accordance with the timing.

A conveyance belt 64 is provided on the downstream side of the secondary transfer roller 62, and a primary fixing unit 66 is provided on the downstream side thereof.
The cut sheet S to which the color toner image is transferred is conveyed to the primary fixing unit 66 by the conveyance belt 64. The primary fixing unit 66 performs a heating and pressing process on the cut sheet S, and includes a pair of heating and pressing rollers.
The color toner image is fixed on the cut sheet S by the fixing process by the primary fixing unit 66. The image obtained by the fixing process in the primary fixing unit 66 does not reach the high image quality required for a photographic image or the like, but has an image quality equivalent to the image quality obtained by a color copying machine or the like.

  The cut sheet S subjected to the fixing process by the primary fixing unit 66 is conveyed to the position adjusting unit 28 by the conveying roller 20. A reversing conveyance unit 26 is disposed between the primary fixing unit 66 and the position adjustment unit 28.

  In order to record an image on both sides of the cut sheet S, the reverse conveying unit 26 forms the surface of the cut sheet S on which the image is formed on one side (first side) and subjected to fixing processing in the primary fixing unit 66. Invert. The reverse conveying unit 26 includes switching guides 70 and 70 a, a drawing roller 72, a sensor 75, and a drawing roller 76.

  The switching guide 70 switches the conveyance destination of the cut sheet S fixed by the primary fixing unit 66 to the reverse conveyance unit 26 or the downstream position adjustment unit 28. When the surface of the cut sheet S is reversed, the cut sheet S once fixed by the primary fixing unit 66 is guided to the drawing roller 72 by switching the switching guide 70 to the reverse conveying unit 26 side.

  The drawing roller 72 forms a drawing path 74 that draws the cut sheet S downward in FIG. 1, and the drawing roller 76 pulls out the cut sheet drawn into the drawing path 74, and the registration roller 20 a on the upstream side of the image forming unit 24. A drawing path 78 for conveying to is formed. A switching guide 70 a is provided at a connection portion between the drawing path 74 and the drawing path 78, and switching between a path to be drawn into the drawing path 74 and a path to be drawn from the drawing path 74 to the drawing path 78 is performed.

A sensor 75 that detects a cut sheet is provided at the leading end of the pull-in path 74 in the pull-in direction. The sensor 75 is, for example, an optical sensor that detects the presence or absence of an object by shading, and is configured by a pair of a light emitting element and a light receiving element.
In accordance with the detection result of the cut sheet S by the sensor 75, the switching guides 70 and 70a, the drawing roller 72, and the drawing roller 76 are controlled.

The drawing roller 72 once pulls the cut sheet S fixed by the primary fixing unit 66, and when the cut sheet S is detected by the sensor 75, conveys the cut sheet S in the opposite direction.
The drawing roller 76 conveys the cut sheet S to the registration roller 20a.
In the reverse conveyance unit 26, the cut sheet S on which an image is recorded on one side is fixed by the primary fixing unit 66, and then drawn into the drawing path 74 by the drawing roller 72, and the cut sheet S is detected by the sensor 75. Then, it is conveyed to the drawing path 78. Thereby, the cut sheet S is reversed.

  In the present embodiment, when the cut sheet S that performs double-sided recording and the front surface (first surface) has been recorded is conveyed, the switching guide 70 is moved to the reverse conveyance unit 26 (retraction path 74). ), The cut sheet S is guided to the drawing roller 72 and the drawing roller 72 is rotated. When the cut sheet S is drawn into the drawing roller 72 and detected by the sensor 75, the drawing roller 72 is rotated in the reverse direction to convey the cut sheet S in the reverse direction, and the switching guide 70a is switched to the drawing path 78 side. Then, the cut sheet S is guided to the drawing path 78. As a result, the front and back of the cut sheet S are reversed, and the cut sheet S that has been reversed is conveyed to the registration roller 20 a by the drawing roller 76.

  Note that the cut sheet S that has been turned upside down by the reversing conveyance unit 26 and conveyed to the registration roller 20a is also reversed in the conveyance direction. Therefore, image recording on the back surface (second surface) of the cut sheet S is performed by inverting the image with respect to the transport direction.

  The position adjustment unit 28 adjusts the position in a direction (hereinafter referred to as a width direction) orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the cut sheet S fixed by the primary fixing unit 66. As this position adjustment part 28, for example, a plate is provided in the width direction, the cut sheet S is abutted against this plate, the position of the cut sheet S is regulated, and the position of the cut sheet S in the width direction is adjusted. It can be. Further, a nip roller capable of moving the cut sheet S in the width direction may be provided, and the position in the width direction of the cut sheet S may be adjusted by the nip roller.

The surface gloss processing section 30 is processed by the primary fixing section 66 to fix the color toner image, and further smoothes the surface of the color toner image on the cut sheet S whose position in the width direction is adjusted. The surface treatment for imparting gloss is performed.
The surface gloss processing unit 30 includes a heat and pressure roller pair 80 that applies heat and pressure processing to the cut sheet S on which the color toner image is fixed, and a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the heat and pressure roller pair 80. 82, a secondary fixing belt 84 having a smooth glossy surface that circulates and a cooling unit 86 that cools the cut sheet S heated by the heating and pressure roller pair 80.
The secondary fixing belt 84 is stretched between one roller of the heat and pressure roller pair 80 and a stretching roller 80a.

  In the present embodiment, the surface gloss processing unit 30 will be described by taking as an example a surface treatment that smoothes the surface of a color toner image to give it a gloss, but the present invention is not limited to this. The surface gloss processing unit 30 may perform a mat processing for intentionally fogging the surface of a color toner image aiming at a visual effect on a viewer of the image. In this case, as the secondary fixing belt 84 in the surface gloss processing unit 30, a belt having a rough surface (a surface with low smoothness) is used to intentionally cloud the surface of the color toner image.

  In the surface gloss processing unit 30, first, the color toner image fixed by the primary fixing unit 66 is heated and melted by the heat and pressure roller pair 80, and the surface of the melted color toner image is It is pressed against the smooth glossy surface of the secondary fixing belt 84.

Next, the cut sheet S is conveyed to the downstream side in a state of sticking to the glossy surface of the secondary fixing belt 84, and the cut sheet S in a state of sticking to the glossy surface is further heated to a pressure roller pair 80. It cools by the cooling part 86 arrange | positioned downstream. As a result, the melted color toner image of the cut sheet S is solidified. Thereafter, the cut sheet S is further conveyed downstream, and the secondary fixing belt 84 is peeled from the glossy surface of the secondary fixing belt 84 by the rigidity of the cut sheet S itself as the secondary fixing belt 84 is bent by the stretching roller 80a.
As described above, a color image is recorded on the cut sheet S in the image recording unit 12.

As an image recording form on the cut sheet S in the image recording unit 12, for example, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), four screens for forming four image recording regions R on one cut sheet S and FIG. As shown in FIG. 2 (b), there is one screen attachment in which one image recording region R is formed on one cut sheet S. Also, it is possible to provide two screens for forming an image area (not shown) having the same width as that of FIG.
Note that the screen attachment is not particularly limited, and may be appropriately determined according to the size of the print to be created so that the waste of the cut sheet is minimized.

Next, the cutting unit 14 will be described.
The cut sheet S on which the image is recorded is conveyed to the cutting unit 14 by the conveyance roller 20.
The cutting unit 14 cuts the periphery (see FIGS. 2A and 2B) of the recording area R where the image is recorded by the image recording unit 12 to form individual prints P.
As shown in FIG. 1, the cutting unit 14 includes a first cutter 90 (first slitter 90 a and second slitter 90 b), a second cutter 94, and a first cutter upstream of the first cutter 90. The conveyance roller pair 91, the second conveyance roller pair 92 between the first cutter 90 and the second cutter 94, and the third conveyance roller pair 96 on the downstream side of the second cutter 94 are provided.

The first cutter 90 is a feature of the present invention, and cuts the cut sheet S along a direction parallel to the conveyance direction D. That is, the first cutter 90 cuts the cut sheet S along the cut line Cx of the cut sheet S shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), for example.
The first cutter 90 includes a first slitter 90a and a second slitter 90b arranged in the conveyance direction of the cut sheet S. The first slitter 90a and the second slitter 90b have the same configuration, and each of the first slitter 90a and the second slitter 90b has a pair of rotary blades (rotary cutters) disposed across the conveyance path of the cut sheet S in the conveyance direction D. Two sets are provided in the orthogonal width direction (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1). When there are four cut lines Cx as shown in FIG. 2A, both the first slitter 90a and the second slitter 90b are operated, and as shown in FIG. When there is, each of the prints P can be separated by cutting one of the cut sheets S along the conveying direction by applying one of them.

Here, when cutting the cut sheet S of FIG. 2 (a) and when cutting the cut sheet S of FIG. 2 (b), the position of the cut line Cx is different. At least one rotary cutter of the first slitter 90a and the second slitter 90b is slidable in the width direction. In the present embodiment, the rotary cutter is movable in the width direction in both the first slitter 90a and the second slitter 90b.
In the image recording apparatus 10 of the present invention, the first cutter 90 is always upstream in the conveying direction of the two rotary blades of the slitter even when the slitter is slid in the width direction (direction orthogonal to the cutting direction). It has the structure which can provide the inclination (toe-in angle) which contacts. The configuration of the first slitter 90a and the second slitter 90b in the first cutter 90 will be described in detail later.

The second cutter 94 is a so-called shear cutter that sandwiches (cuts) the cut sheet S in the width direction E (see FIG. 2) perpendicular to the transport direction D, and is provided on the downstream side of the first cutter 90 in the transport direction. It has been. The second cutter 94 includes a fixed blade and a movable blade that is in contact with and away from the fixed blade, and the fixed blade and the movable blade are disposed with the conveyance path of the cut sheet S interposed therebetween. The movable blade is preferably provided on the image recording surface side during single-sided image recording.
The second cutter 94 cuts the cut sheet S cut along the transport direction by the first cutter 90 along the width direction E along the cut line Cy shown in FIGS.

The second conveyance roller pair 92 is provided between the first cutter 90 and the second cutter 94, and the second conveyance roller pair 92 is arranged so as to apply tension to the cut sheet S conveyed through the first cutter 90. The cut sheet S is transported at a speed that is the same as or slightly faster than the transport speed of the first transport roller pair 91 immediately upstream of one cutter 90 and the transport roller 20 upstream thereof.
Further, the second conveyance roller pair 92 conveys and stops until the cut line Cy of the cut sheet S reaches the cutting position of the second cutter 94, and conveys the cut sheet S again after being cut by the second cutter 94. To start.
As a result, the cut sheet S can be cut with high accuracy in the first cutter 90 and the second cutter 94.

  The third conveying roller pair 96 is provided on the downstream side of the second cutter 94, and is driven and controlled so as not to apply excessive tension to the cut sheet S conveyed by the second cutter 94. . In the present embodiment, the third transport roller pair 96 is driven at a transport speed slower than that of the second transport roller pair 92, and can idle in the transport direction by a one-way clutch. Thereby, the cut sheet S passing through the second cutter 94 is stably conveyed by the stiffness of the cut sheet S itself without being pulled or bent, so that variation in cutting position is reduced and cutting accuracy is reduced. Can be high.

  In this way, the cut sheet S is cut along the transport direction D and the width direction E by the cutting unit 14, whereby the print P is obtained. The print P is conveyed to the return unit 16 by the conveyance roller 20 disposed downstream of the cutting unit 14.

Next, the returning unit 16 will be described.
The return unit 16 cuts back at the cutting unit 14 and feeds back the first width print conveyed in a plurality of rows (two rows in the example of FIG. 2A) to form a single row. Further, a print having a second width wider than the first width is conveyed as it is.
As shown in FIG. 1, the swing-back unit 16 includes a carry-in roller pair 120, conveyance roller pairs 122, 124, and 130, a discharge roller pair 126, and a swing-back roller pair 132. A mechanism for moving the pair 132 in the width direction E perpendicular to the transport direction, a movable guide, a detection sensor for the print P, and the like are included.
The returning unit 16 conveys the print P from the carry-in roller pair 120 to the discharge roller pair 126 through the conveying roller pair 130 and the returning roller pair 132, and the returning roller pair 132 performs the returning of the print P. And a second conveyance path β that conveys the print P from the carry-in roller pair 120 through the conveyance roller pairs 122 and 124 to the discharge roller pair 126 and does not perform back-flicking.

The print P conveyed to the carry-in roller pair 120 of the return unit 16 by one or more conveyance rollers 20 arranged between the cutting unit 14 and the return unit 16 is arranged downstream of the carry-in roller pair 120 in the conveyance direction. The guide is guided to the first transport path α or the second transport path β by a movable guide (not shown).
The prints P that have been transported in a plurality of rows are transported along the first transport path α and are returned to a single row by the return roller pair 132. The return roller pair 132 transports the print P in the transport direction D and moves it in the width direction E. During the returning operation by the returning roller pair 132, the print P sandwiched between the returning roller pair 132 extends over the positions of the conveying roller pair 130 and the carry-in roller pair 120 upstream of the returning roller pair 132. In this case, the nip between the transport roller pair 130 or the carry-in roller pair 120 is released. For example, when the panorama size print P is turned back, the nips of both the conveyance roller pair 130 and the carry-in roller pair 120 are released.

The print P that has been transported in a single row is transported on the second transport path β as it is.
The print P conveyed on the first conveyance path α or the second conveyance path β is guided to the discharge roller pair 126 by a movable guide (not shown) arranged on the upstream side of the discharge roller pair 126 in the conveyance direction.
A detection signal from the print P detection sensor is used to control the operation of each component of the return unit 16.

Next, the sort transport unit 18 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the sort transport unit 18 collects prints P that are transported in a single row by the return unit 16 on a case-by-case basis. The sort transport unit 18 includes a pair of pulleys 140 and 140 and a belt 142 stretched around the pulleys 140 and 140. The sort transport unit 18 receives and stacks the prints P that have been transported and dropped from the discharge roller pair 126 on the belt 142, and detects that the prints P for one item have been stacked based on sort information or the like. The belt 142 is moved by a predetermined amount that is set according to the print size (the maximum length of the case), the stack of the prints P is transported and stopped, and then the next print P is accumulated. .

Next, the first cutter 90 which is a characteristic part of the present invention will be described in detail.
As described above, in the image recording apparatus 10 of the illustrated example, the first slitter 90a and the second slitter 90b of the first cutter 90 have the same configuration. Therefore, the first slitter 90a is representatively described below. Will be described.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the first slitter 90a viewed from the downstream side in the transport direction, and FIG. 4 is a conceptual plan view of the first slitter 90a of FIG. 3 viewed from above.
The first slitter 90 a includes two sets of rotary cutters 148 a and 148 b in the width direction of the cut sheet S. In FIG. 3, the left (carrying direction right side) rotary cutter 148a includes an upper blade unit 150a and a lower blade unit 152a. The right (carrying direction left side) rotary cutter 148b in FIG. It is comprised from the lower blade unit 152b. Both rotary cutters 148a and 148b are arranged in the same direction in the width direction E with the opposite directions.

  Further, the first slitter 90a guides the movement of the lower blade units 152a and 152b in the width direction E and guides the movement of the upper blade units 150a and 150b in the width direction E. Slide that is a moving means for moving the shaft 156 (second guide shaft), the guide shaft 154 and the rotation drive mechanism 158 of the guide shaft 156, and the rotary cutter 148a (the upper blade unit 150a and the lower blade unit 152a) in the width direction E. A mechanism 160a, a slide mechanism 160b as a moving means for moving the rotary cutter 148b (upper blade unit 150b and lower blade unit 152b) in the width direction, and controllers 194a and 194b as control means for the slide mechanisms 160a and 160b. is doing.

  As described above, the first cutter 90 causes one or both of the first slitter 90a and the second slitter 90b to act according to the position of the cut line Cx (see FIG. 2) of the cut sheet S. Cut S along the cut line Cx. For example, when cutting with the first slitter 90a, the rotary cutters 148a and 148b are arranged at the position of the cut line Cx, and the cut sheet S to be conveyed is cut along the conveyance direction D. Further, when the cutting by the first slitter 90a is not performed, the rotary cutters 148a and 148b are retracted outside the width of the cut sheet S.

  As described above, since the rotary cutter 148a and the rotary cutter 148b have the same configuration, the rotary cutter 148a will be described below as a representative of both.

The lower cutter unit 152a of the rotary cutter 148a includes a disk-shaped lower blade 164, a holding member 167 of the lower blade 164, and a housing 169.
The lower blade 164 is a circular blade having a predetermined thickness, and is disposed with the outer peripheral blade being substantially perpendicular to the cut sheet S. A circular hole is formed in the center of the flat plate surface of the lower blade 164.
The holding member 167 is a cylindrical member, and a groove corresponding to the circular hole of the lower blade 164 is formed in the substantially axial center of the outer periphery of the cylinder. The lower blade 164 is fitted in the groove of the holding member 167, and the fitting portion is pressed and held by an O-ring or the like. The lower blade 164 rotates with the rotation of the holding member 167.

The holding member 167 is rotatably held by two wall portions facing the width direction E of the U-shaped housing 169 via a support member such as a bearing. A guide shaft 154 that is a first guide shaft is inserted through the holding member 167 (the central portion thereof) and the housing 169.
The guide shaft 154 is a hexagonal shaft extending in the width direction E orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the cut sheet S. The fitting portion (insertion portion) between the guide shaft 154 and the holding member 167 of the lower blade 164 has a predetermined clearance (backlash) (first clearance) that allows the holding member 167 to slide relative to the guide shaft 154. ) Is provided. The first clearance is set in a range where the guide shaft 154 rotates together with the holding member 167 without idling when the guide shaft 154 rotates. Therefore, the holding member 167 rotates with the rotation of the guide shaft 154 and is slidable with respect to the guide shaft 154.

  Further, a support member such as a bearing is interposed in the insertion portion between the guide shaft 154 and the housing 169, and the housing 169 is not affected by the rotation of the guide shaft 154, and is a holding member with respect to the guide shaft 154. 167 can slide together.

  Both ends of the guide shaft 154 are rotatably supported by support members 155 and 155 having bearings. In addition, one end portion (right end portion in the illustrated example) of the guide shaft 154 is connected to the rotation drive mechanism 158.

The upper blade unit 150 a includes a disk-shaped upper blade 162, a holding member 166 for the upper blade 162, a housing 168, a pressing member 170, and a spring 172.
The upper blade 162 is a circular blade having a predetermined thickness similar to that of the lower blade 164, and is disposed with the outer peripheral blade being substantially perpendicular to the cut sheet S. A circular hole is formed in the center of the flat plate surface of the upper blade 162.
The holding member 166 is a cylindrical member similar to the holding member 167, and a groove corresponding to the circular hole of the upper blade 162 is formed at the substantially axial center of the outer periphery of the cylinder. The upper blade 162 is fitted in the groove of the holding member 166, and the fitting portion is pressed and held by an O-ring or the like, and rotates with the rotation of the holding member 166.
The holding member 166 is attached to one wall portion in the width direction E of the substantially U-shaped housing 168 and a pressing member 170 that is arranged so as to partition the inside of the housing 168 and is movable in the width direction E. It is supported rotatably via a support member. Further, the holding member 166 is movable in the axial direction (width direction E) with respect to the housing 168 by being pressed by the pressing member 170.

A guide shaft 156 that is a second guide shaft is inserted through the holding member 166 (the central portion thereof), the housing 168, and the pressing member 170.
The guide shaft 156 is a hexagonal shaft that extends in the width direction E and is disposed parallel to the guide shaft 154 and perpendicular to the conveyance surface of the cut sheet S. A fitting portion (insertion portion) between the guide shaft 156 and the holding member 166 of the upper blade 162 is provided with a second clearance larger than the first clearance. The second clearance is in a range in which the holding member 166 can slide with respect to the guide shaft 156 and the rotation of the guide shaft 156 can be transmitted to the holding member 166 (not idle).

Both ends of the guide shaft 156 are rotatably supported by support members 157 and 157 having bearings. Further, one end portion (right end portion in the illustrated example) of the guide shaft 156 is connected to the rotation drive mechanism 158 similarly to the guide shaft 154.
A support member such as a bearing is interposed in the insertion portion of the guide shaft 156 in the housing 168 and the pressing member 170, and the housing 168 and the pressing member 170 are not affected by the rotation of the guide shaft 154. 154 can slide together with the holding member 166.

  A compression spring 172 is set between the other inner wall surface in the width direction E of the housing 168 and the pressing member 170 in a state where the compression spring 172 is compressed by a predetermined amount. The spring 172 presses the holding member 166 with the pressing member 170 by the urging force, moves the holding member 166 in the axial direction (width direction E), and sets the position of the upper blade 162 held by the holding member 166 to the lower blade. By changing toward 164, a preload is applied between the side surfaces of the upper blade 162 and the lower blade 164.

The upper blade unit 150a and the lower blade unit 152a are arranged such that the upper blade 162 and the lower blade 164 have an overlapping portion (overlapping) on the flat plate surface forming the blade edge.
In this embodiment, both the rotary cutter 148a and the rotary cutter 148b have an upper blade 162 on the outer side of the conveyance path and a lower blade 164 on the inner side (center side).

The rotation drive mechanism 158 includes gears 176 and 176 attached to one end of the guide shafts 154 and 156, a motor 178 that rotationally drives the rotation drive mechanism 158, and a gear 180 attached to the motor 178. , The power is transmitted from the gear 180 to the gears 176 and 176, and the guide shafts 154 and 156 are rotated.
When the guide shafts 154 and 156 rotate, the holding members 167 and 166 fitted to the guide shafts 154 and 156 rotate, and the lower blade 164 and the upper blade 162 rotate, and the cut sheet S is cut.
Note that either one of the guide shaft 154 and the guide shaft 156 may be rotationally driven, and the other may be rotated along with the cutting / conveying of the cut sheet S to be cut.

The upper blade unit 150 a is connected to the slide mechanism 160 a by a fixture 174 attached to the housing 168.
The slide mechanism 160a is attached to an endless timing belt 182 that is a first drive transmission member, a pair of timing pulleys 184a and 184b that stretch the timing belt 182, a rotating shaft 186 of the timing pulley 184a, and a rotating shaft 186. A gear 190, a motor 190a for rotating the slide mechanism 160a, and a gear 192 attached to the motor 190a. As the motor 190a rotates, the gear 188 meshed with the gear 192 rotates, and power is transmitted to the rotating shaft 186 and the timing pulley 184a to move the timing belt 182.
The driving of the slide mechanism 160a, that is, the operation of the motor 190a is controlled by the controller 194a.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the timing belt 182 is disposed at a position shifted from the position of the guide shaft 156 and the guide shaft 154 to the upstream side in the transport direction, and the housing 168 of the upper blade unit 150a is as shown in FIG. Further, it is connected to the timing belt 182 by a fixture 174 having an L-shaped cross section. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG.

  Similarly, the lower blade unit 152a is connected to the slide mechanism 160a by a fixture 174 attached to the housing 169. That is, the timing belt 183 (second drive transmission member) and the timing pulleys 184a and 184b similar to the timing belt 182 and the timing pulleys 184a and 184b described above are separated from each other in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance surface at the same position in the conveyance direction. The power from the motor 190a is transmitted to the timing belt 183.

  That is, the rotation of the motor 190a causes the timing belt 182 and the timing belt 183 to move by the same amount, so that the upper blade unit 150a and the lower blade unit 152a are integrated with each other along the width direction E by substantially the same amount. Just move.

  As the timing belt 182 rotates, the upper blade unit 150a moves along the width direction E. As described above, the timing belt 182 is located upstream of the guide shaft 156 and the guide shaft 154 in the transport direction. They are arranged in a staggered manner. Therefore, the movement of the timing belt 182 causes a moment about the direction orthogonal to the conveying surface of the cut sheet S to act on the housing 168 of the upper blade unit 150a and the holding member 166 held between the housings 168.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual top view showing the positional relationship between the timing belt 182 and the upper blade unit 150a, particularly in the vicinity of the upper blade 162. FIG. In the same figure, in order to make it easy to understand the change in the position of the upper blade 162, the lower blade 164 disposed below (in FIG. 6, the back side of the paper surface) is also shown.
As shown in FIG. 6A, when the timing belt 182 moves to the left in the drawing, the upper blade 162 (upper blade unit 150a) also moves to the left. At this time, a moment component about the direction perpendicular to the conveyance surface of the cut sheet S (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in the drawing) is added to the insertion portion (fitting portion) between the guide shaft 156 and the holding member 166. Is done. Since the fitting portion between the guide shaft 156 and the holding member 166 is provided with the second clearance (backlash), the upper blade 162 is perpendicular to the guide shaft 156 within the range of the second clearance due to the moment. Inclined from the direction.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the timing belt 182 moves to the right side in the drawing, the upper blade 162 is also pulled to the right side. At this time, it is added to the fitting portion between the guide shaft 156 and the holding member 166. The upper blade 162 is inclined from the direction perpendicular to the guide shaft 156 by the moment component.

  Similarly, in the case of the lower blade 164 (lower blade unit 152a), a moment acts on the insertion portion (fitting portion) between the guide shaft 154 and the holding member 167 by the movement of the timing belt 183. However, since the first clearance between the guide shaft 154 and the holding member 167 is smaller than the second clearance, that is, the backlash is reduced, the inclination of the lower blade 164 due to the moment is small.

  From the above, when the slitter composed of the upper blade unit 150a and the lower blade unit 152a is slid, the relationship between the upper blade 162 and the lower blade 164 is as shown in FIG. When the blade is moved to the outer side, the blade edge opens to the upstream side in the conveying direction, and the upper blade 162 and the lower blade 164 come into contact on the downstream side. When moved to the inside of the conveying path), the cutting edge closes on the upstream side in the conveying direction, and the upper blade 162 and the lower blade 164 come into contact with each other on the upstream side.

Here, as described above, in the rotary cutter (slitter), the two rotary blades are brought into contact with each other on the upstream side (point F in FIG. 5) in the conveyance direction D of the cut material (toe-in angle is added), thereby sharpening. Can be improved.
Therefore, the controller 194a always gives the upper blade 162 and the lower blade 164 after sliding the upper blade unit 150a and the lower blade unit 152a with an inclination (toe-in angle) that is in contact with the upstream side. That is, the slide mechanism 160a is controlled so as to be in the state shown in FIG.

For example, when the cutting position of the cut sheet S by the upper blade unit 150a and the lower blade unit 152a changes to the outside (the end in the width direction of the cut sheet S), the upper blade unit 150a and the lower blade unit 152a are temporarily It is moved to a position further outside than the cutting position, and then moved to the inside, and positioned at a predetermined cutting position.
Further, when the cutting position of the cut sheet S by the upper blade unit 150a and the lower blade unit 152a changes to the inner side (the center side of the cut sheet S), the upper blade unit 150a and the lower blade unit 152a are moved inward while moving to a predetermined position. Position at the cutting position.
Alternatively, a predetermined position outside the range that can be cut by the upper blade unit 150a and the lower blade unit 152a is set as the home position, and when changing the cutting position, the position is always returned to the home position and then moved inward for positioning. You may do it.
The controller 194a realizes the above operation by controlling the forward / reverse rotation and the rotation amount of the motor 190a.

  Similarly, the controller 194b controls the slide mechanism 160b for the rotary cutter 148b on the right side of FIG. Thereby, the upper blade 162 and the lower blade 164 of the upper blade unit 150b and the lower blade unit 152b can always be contacted on the upstream side even after the cutting position is changed, and a good sharpness can be maintained.

  Since the print P created by the image recording apparatus 10 of the present invention is always cut with a good sharpness in the first cutter 90, damage to the recording sheet due to poor cutting is suppressed, and the cut surface It becomes a beautiful print. Further, the image recording apparatus 10 of the present invention can prevent problems such as jamming due to defective cutting.

  Note that the relationship between the direction of movement of the timing belt 182 and the toe-in angle of the upper blade 162 and the lower blade 164 is an arrangement position of the timing belt 182 with respect to the guide shaft 156 and the guide shaft 154 (displaced to the upstream side in the transport direction). Depending on the configuration, the upper blade 162 and the lower blade may be different depending on whether the upper blade 162 and the lower blade 164 are disposed (which blade is disposed on the outside). The timing belt 182 (sliding mechanism) may be controlled so that the direction in which 164 is positioned is the direction in which the toe-in angle is applied.

Further, in this embodiment, the upper blade 162 (its holding member 166) is urged toward the lower blade 164 by the urging force of the spring 172, and a predetermined pressure is applied. The biasing force of the spring 172 is set so as to be weaker than the frictional force between the holding member 166 and the guide shaft 156 when the holding member 166 is tilted with respect to the guide shaft 156. The influence of correcting the inclination of the upper blade 162 is suppressed as much as possible.

In the above embodiment, the fitting portion between the holding member 166 and the guide shaft 156 and the fitting portion between the holding member 167 and the guide shaft 154 have both a rotation transmission function and a slide movement guide function. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the rotation transmission function and the slide movement guide function may be performed in separate parts.
For example, rotation is transmitted by the fitting portion between the holding member 166 and the guide shaft 156 and the fitting portion between the holding member 167 and the guide shaft 154 as in the above example, and the guide shaft for guiding the slide movement is used. It may be provided separately, and a predetermined portion of the housings 168 and 169 may be fitted to the guide shaft to the second gap and the first gap. In this case, the fitting portion between the holding member 166 that transmits the rotation and the guide shaft 156 and the fitting portion between the holding member 167 and the guide shaft 154 have a clearance, an interference fit, or a fixed fit. It may be fixed with a tool.

  The image recording apparatus according to the present invention has been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the various embodiments described above, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the imposition to a cut sheet, (a) is a 4 surface imposition, (b) is a figure which shows 1 imposition. It is the schematic diagram which looked at the 1st slitter from the conveyance direction downstream side. It is the conceptual top view which looked at the 1st slitter of FIG. 3 from the top. It is the VV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a conceptual top view which shows the positional relationship of a timing belt and the upper blade 162 vicinity.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image recording device 12 Image recording part 14 Cutting | disconnection part 16 Reversing part 18 Sort conveyance part 20 Conveyance roller 90 1st cutter 90a 1st slitter 90b 2nd slitter 148a, 148b Rotary cutter 150a, 150b Upper blade unit 152a, 152b Below Blade unit 154 Guide shaft (first guide shaft)
155 Support member 156 Guide shaft (second guide shaft)
157 Support member 158 Rotation drive mechanism 160a, 160b Slide mechanism 162 Upper blade 164 Lower blade 166, 167 Holding member 168, 169 Housing 170 Press member 172 Spring 174 Mounting tool 176, 180 Gear 178 Motor 182, 183 Timing belt 184a, 184b Timing Pulley 186 Rotating shaft 188, 192 Gear 190a, 190b Motor 194a, 194b Controller

Claims (3)

An image recording apparatus comprising: an image recording unit that records an image on a recording sheet; and a cutting unit that conveys the recording sheet on which the image is recorded and cuts the recording sheet along a conveyance direction thereof.
The cutting part is
Two rotating blades in pairs arranged to have overlapping portions on the blades;
Two holding members that respectively hold the rotary blade rotatably;
A first guide shaft extending in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction, passing through one of the holding members to the first gap and guiding the holding member in the width direction, and the other holding member; A second guide shaft that guides the holding member in the width direction through a second gap larger than the first gap;
The two holding members are moved together in the width direction while adding at least a moment component about the direction perpendicular to the surface that conveys the recording sheet to the holding member guided by the second guide shaft. Moving means to
When positioning the two rotary blades at the cutting position, the holding member is moved toward the cutting position while adding the moment component in a direction in which the two rotary blades are brought into contact with the upstream side in the transport direction. And a control means for controlling the moving means so as to stop the two rotary blades at the cutting position.   The moving means includes a drive source and first and second drive transmission members respectively connected to the two holding members at positions shifted from the centers of the first and second guide shafts in the transport direction. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1.   The cutting unit includes two holding members each holding the two rotary blades that form the pair and each of the first and second guide shafts inserted therein, and two moving members of the two holding members. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus has a set.

Images